


Ruined Plans

by stylinsonslytherin



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Caring Harry Styles, Christmas Fluff, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Harry Styles & Lottie Tomlinson Friendship, Harry takes care of his hubby, Husbands, Larry Stylinson Is Real, Liam is a Good Friend, Lottie is a sweet sister, M/M, Sick Louis Tomlinson, Sickfic, Sleepy Cuddles, Vomiting, i wanted to post this yesterday, larry - Freeform, larry stylinson - Freeform, louis is sick on his birthday, stomach bug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:53:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28306350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stylinsonslytherin/pseuds/stylinsonslytherin
Summary: Their bags were packed, the dogs were bathed, the presents were all wrapped downstairs and Harry couldn’t get “Holly Jolly Christmas” out of his head. In fact, he’d been tapping to its rhythm on any possible surface since listening to it while baking the day before. Those were the things that came with the quickly approaching end of December. All that was planned, a part of a routine really, had been for years - after all, it was Christmas time. And Louis' time too, considering his husband was born on Christmas Eve. What Harry definitely hadn’t planned, though, was waking up way earlier than the time he’d set the alarm to, by said husband running out of bed in the middle of the night to throw up.Or the one where it is Louis' 29th birthday and he wakes up feeling poorly.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 18
Kudos: 78





	1. Chapter 1

Harry woke up in that morning to the sound of the bed creaking slightly, and smiled to himself as he realised what day it was. 

December 24th. Not only the day before Christmas but also Louis' birthday, what made it all that much better. Today, he could officially spoil his boy as much as he wanted without him complaining about it. 

“Morning, darling” he said, with his eyes still closed and his voice a little rough from sleep, turning his face into the pillow to yawn, “Get back in here, it’s cold” 

When Louis didn’t answer him, Harry huffed and reached a hand out, feeling around his side of the bed to bring him in for a cuddle - and finding nothing but crumpled warm sheets. 

Harry finally opened his eyes then, only to find his husband sitting at the end of the bed, a little hunched over, his legs thrown over the side of the mattress while he clutched the blankets that had been on top of his shivery body moments ago. “Louis? Everything alright, hun?” 

Louis slowly shook his head in answer. 

“What’s wrong with you?” asked Harry, brows knitting together in concern as he sat up too. 

Letting out the breath he had been holding in, Louis got up on shaky legs and hurtled his way into their en suite, his vision swimming dizzily as he moved. He could feel himself breaking into a cold sweat as his stomach churned violently inside of him, and a chill ran through his body as he fell to his knees in front of the toilet, whimpering. 

“Louis?” 

Harry jumped out of bed and followed him, a feeling of dread washing over him as he heard harsh coughs coming from the bathroom. The door hadn’t been fully closed and the awful gagging noises that followed the coughs confirmed his suspicions before he could even open it. “Lou?”

“Go away” Louis moaned, sounding hoarse and strained. 

Sighing, Harry pushed the door open, turning the lights on and stepping into the bathroom to find Louis on the floor, leaning over the toilet, white as a ghost with his eyes squeezed shut and his head bowed between his arms while he gripped the sides of the porcelain bowl. From what he could see, Louis was covered in sweat and there was vomit on his shirt and splashed on the toilet seat under his face. 

“Oh, baby...” cooed Harry, crouching down beside Louis and gently pushing away the hair falling into his watery eyes, doing his best to ignore the smell, “You poor thing. Is there anything else in there that needs to come out now?” 

“I don’t know” answered Louis, gulping, “I feel like shit” 

Harry pressed the back of his hand to Louis' forehead, then felt his cheek and neck. “You’re warm, love. Pretty sure you got a fever” 

Louis moaned, letting his head fall to Harry’s shoulder. 

“Leave it to you to get sick right on your birthday, huh?” said Harry, rubbing Louis' back when he sniffed sadly, “Think you’re done in here then?” 

“I don’t know” Louis repeated, clutching his stomach as the nauseous feeling grew once again, “Don’t think so...”

Harry sighed again, feeling truly awful for him, and moved to fully sit on the floor since his legs were starting to get tired. Louis sat down too, with his short legs bracketing the toilet, groaning at the lightheadedness that moving brought along. Not even a minute later, though, the lad regretted his decision as that slight change in their position was enough to set him off a second time. He gagged and desperately covered his mouth, trying to stop it from happening and shaking his head while Harry guided him back over the toilet. 

There wasn’t much he could do about it, though. 

Louis retched loudly and winced, squeezing his eyes shut as another heavy stream of vomit fell from his mouth into the once clean water under his face, coughing and gripping the sides of the toilet hard enough to make his knuckles turn white. Harry held his hair - it was quite long now, reaching Louis' shoulders, the longest it had been in years. 

He whimpered as Harry's caring hands let go of him for a moment there, wishing he could just curl up in his husband’s lap to sleep off whatever this sudden sickness was. 

“Shh, it’s okay. Here” said Harry, using some toilet paper to wipe away the string of saliva hanging from Louis' mouth.

“This is so disgusting” Louis said, weakly, resting his forehead on the toilet and panting as he tried to catch his breath. At least the cool seat felt good against his burning skin. “Wanna lay down...” 

“Yeah, let’s get you back to bed” Harry said, kissing the top of Louis' head as the older man leaned on him for support, “I wanna check your temperature too”

Louis nodded and reluctantly pulled away, grimacing as he looked at his ruined shirt. The smell was really starting to get to  
him, and the sight didn’t help in the slightest. 

Harry pushed himself out of the floor before helping Louis stand, grabbing his elbow to steady him as he swayed dizzily. “Easy, Lou” 

“God, my head...” Louis groaned, taking a hand to his head and pressing on it. 

Frowning, Harry grabbed the end of his soiled shirt and slowly pulled it off of him, Louis raising his arms to help before letting them flop back down to his sides, not having the energy to do much more than hold himself up against the counter. “Could it be something that you ate, you think?” 

“Please don’t talk about food right now” whined Louis, “I still feel so nauseous” 

“Oh, I’m sorry, sweetie. Here, let me just clean you up a bit and then we can go back to bed, alright?” said Harry, quickly running a washcloth under the tap and squeezing it before wiping the sweat from Louis' pale face, his neck and chest. “Wanna rinse your mouth?” 

Louis nodded, taking some water into his cupped hand to rinse his mouth out, trying to get rid of the awful taste that he could still feel in the back of his throat. 

Harry guided him out and to their bed once he was done, keeping a hand on his back until Louis was safely laid down again, afraid that he would lose his balance and fall since his husband looked drained after being sick and generally so unwell. 

“Can you get me another top?” Louis asked in a hoarse voice, his face partially smushed into a pillow, “One of yours. I’m cold now” 

Harry smiled and went to their closet to get one of his jumpers out, Louis' favourite one to sleep or just lounge around the house in. It was quite old and honestly nothing special, all black, a bit faded by the time and many washings, but really soft and comfy. “Here. Sit up, I’ll help you” 

Louis sat up and rubbed his face, letting Harry pull the jumper down over his head before pushing his arms through himself, the sleeves being way too long for him and covering his hands. The sweater was obviously too big on him, as were pretty much all of Harry’s clothes, and that was one of the reasons why Louis loved to wear them whenever he could. The main reason was how they always smelled a little like Harry to him, even when clean and fresh out of the washer. It not only made him feel warm but also safe and at home, no matter where. 

“Better?” Harry asked, chuckling as Louis just hummed and flopped back down on the bed with a yawn. “I’ll take that as a yes”

“Yeah, better” mumbled Louis, “What time is it? It still looks so dark outside...”

“Just gone four” said Harry after checking the time on Louis' phone, rubbing his eyes and face tiredly and letting out a yawn himself. 

“M' really sorry, babe” Louis said, shyly. 

“No need to be, Lou. It’s not your fault that you’re sick” Harry answered, gently tucking his husband in, “Stay here and get some rest, I’ll be right back” 

“Where you going?” 

Smiling, Harry leaned down and kissed his warm forehead, once again pushing his fringe away from his eyes. “Just need to clean the bathroom and get you some medicine. I won’t take long” 

//

“Louis?” Harry asked quietly once he got back and turned the lights on, finding Louis all curled up under the duvet with his eyes closed and his arms wrapped around his belly, “Babe?”

Louis groaned and turned his face into the pillow. 

“I’ll be quick, Lou, promise” said Harry, placing the medicine and a glass of water on Louis’ nightstand, “C’mon, sit up now. I’ll let you sleep after this” 

“But it hurts” Louis protested, blushing as he heard his own whiny tone. 

Harry frowned, laying a cold hand on his cheek. “Your tummy?” 

Louis nodded and slowly sat up against his pillows, taking a deep breath to ease the nausea that contorted his insides painfully and gulping. He pressed a shaky hand over his mouth, afraid that he would be sick again, and sighed in relief when nothing happened a moment later. 

“You’re really feeling awful, aren’t you?” said Harry, sympathetically, grabbing the thermometer and sticking it under Louis' tongue once he opened his mouth.

Louis closed his eyes and rested his head against the headboard, suddenly exhausted. His pale face had turned a sickly greenish shade and was shining under their bedroom lights while droplets of sweat collected on his hairline, his cheeks being the only spots to keep their fever-flushed colour. 

Harry ran a hand through the older man's hair, smiling fondly as Louis let out a quiet little moan and leaned into his touch. The thermometer beeped a few minutes later, and he pulled it out of Louis' mouth to check the reading on the small screen. 

“Can I go back to sleep now?” Louis asked, pulling the duvet up and burying himself under it until only half of his face was showing.

“Sorry, Boo, but you have a fever and I don’t want you overheated” said Harry, pulling the duvet off of him, but then relenting as he saw Louis shiver and tucking it back around his waist. It was freezing outside, and Harry was also shivering from the cold without even being ill. 

Louis turned on his side and dragged his knees up, clutching his stomach and shoving his head into the pillow to hide away from the bright lights that were doing nothing to help with his headache. He didn’t realise Harry had left the room until a wet cloth was laid on his forehead, cringing at how cold it felt compared to his skin. 

“Leave it there, Lou” Harry said, keeping an eye on Louis while he poured some medicine into the little cup for him, “Here, drink this. It should help you feel better”

Louis scrunched his nose up but gulped the pink medicine down in one go, trying not to gag at the taste but coughing anyway. 

“Water please” he choked out, handing the cup back to Harry. 

“You alright, love?” Harry asked, giving the glass to Louis, who took a few sips and exhaled shakily. 

“Tired” answered Louis, “And my stomach is killing me...” 

Harry cooed at him and climbed back in bed after turning off the lights again, worming his way under the duvet. He turned one of the lamps on and tried to pull a reluctant Louis into his arms, but Louis didn’t budge. “What’s wrong, don’t you wanna cuddle?” 

“I do, but I don’t wanna get you sick, Hazza” 

“Oh, don’t worry about me, babe. It’s okay. Besides, if I do end up getting sick I know you’ll take care of me. Now c’mere, yeah?” 

Louis didn’t need to hear it twice, quickly turning around to lay on his husband’s chest and tossing a leg over Harry’s. He always got a bit needy when not feeling well, and Harry knew that better than anyone else. 

“Clingy much, are we?” he asked, kissing the top of Louis’ head and rubbing wide circles on his back, holding him close while Louis played with the fingers of his free hand. 

“You’re warm” Louis said, snuggling further into Harry’s side with a sigh. “I'm still cold” 

Harry gently wiped his face with the cold cloth before pressing it to his forehead once again. “Try to sleep now, love. And wake me up if you need anything, okay?”

//

Louis tried, but even though he felt exhausted he kept waking up every twenty minutes or so, tossing and turning and never managing to fall into a deep sleep. 

Harry must’ve noticed his discomfort, because his snores suddenly stopped and he wrapped Louis in his arms, playing with his sweaty hair as the man laid on his shoulder, wide awake and annoyed at himself. 

One minute he was shaking and snuggling impossibly closer to Harry, only to push away both him and the blankets on the next because the heat was unbearable. His head was pounding by then and his stomach didn’t feel any better with the medicine. 

Louis felt so bad he could honestly cry. 

Eventually, the sick lad fell into a fitful sleep. He woke up from a weird dream not too long after, feeling clammy and suffocatingly hot all over. Sitting up, Louis saw the room spinning around him. Or maybe he was the one swaying, he couldn’t be sure. His stomach was in knots and the strong waves of nausea were giving the poor lad chills. 

“Harry... Haz, wake up” 

Harry groaned at first, ignoring the hand shaking his shoulder until he actually registered the urgency on Louis' voice. He sat up then, still in a bit of a sleep haze, trying to understand what was going on. Louis whimpered his name again. “What’s wrong?” 

“D-don’t feel well” answered Louis, forcing himself to take a deep breath as the panic rose in him. He hated being sick with every single ounce of strength he had. 

Harry turned the lamp on. A quick look at Louis' face told him everything he needed to know. 

“C’mon, Lou” he said with a sigh, getting up and making his way around the bed to help Louis up, cursing inwardly. It was too early to deal with that, yet there was no other option. 

Afraid that Louis would end up ruining the carpet if they weren’t quick, Harry stirred him into the bathroom as fast as he could, keeping a hand on his back. Still, it wasn’t quick enough. 

Louis heaved before he could even try to get to the toilet bowl, just giving Harry enough time to turn the lights on and cringe, as he was sure that what just happened was the definition of projectile vomit. 

Regurgitated Pepto Bismol sprayed out of Louis' mouth and onto the tiles. His eyes widened and he tried to say something, but a second wave of sick poured out of his lips without as much as a gag as warning, coating his fingers and the floor beneath him even more. 

“Shit” Harry said, staring at the growing puddle in front Louis' sock clad feet and taking a deep breath. 

A choked sob reached his ears then, and he just turned Louis towards the sink right before the poor lad threw up again, holding him up by the shoulder and pulling his hair back. 

“I’m s-sorry! I’m so sorry!” Louis said, sitting down on the closed toilet while Harry turned the tap on to rinse some of the mess away, watching him worriedly. 

“Hey hey...” Harry said, crouching down in front of him, keeping his hands on Louis' thighs to balance himself, “It’s okay, Lou. I’m not angry. You’re sick, it wasn’t your fault”

The bathroom smelled awfully like sick and Louis did too, a little bit, but Harry couldn’t care less. He just wanted to make his Louis feel better, and as quick as possible. 

“I couldn’t hold it in. I tried to, wanted to get to the toilet” Louis whispered, sniffling wetly. He lifted the hand that wasn’t covered in sick as if to wipe his mouth, then seemed to reconsider and just lowered it again. 

Seeing that, Harry grabbed some toilet paper and folded it over, gently cleaning Louis' face with it and then wiping away the single tear running down his husband’s blushed cheek with his thumb. “I know baby, don’t worry about it. You’re okay to go back to bed now?” 

Louis shrugged, sniffling again. “Dunno. Still feel nauseous, and so dizzy... I really don’t feel well, Haz” 

His now bloodshot blue eyes shone with unshed tears as he looked up at Harry, runny nose dripping over his chapped lips and a shiver racking through his slumped body. 

Harry felt terrible for him. He couldn’t believe poor Louis was so sick right on what was supposed to be his special day. Even if he wasn’t too big on birthdays and hated to make a fuss out of it, Louis of course still enjoyed being a little spoiled and having fun with his closest friends and family. 

“Here sweetheart, blow” Harry said, folding yet another quite long piece of toilet paper and placing it over Louis' nose gently, what made the older lad blush like crazy. He did as told, though, letting out a whine as Harry wiped his nose clean after that. 

“Stop it, I’m not a child!” he huffed, forcing himself up to wash his disgusting hand and regretting his decision as his right foot landed on warm liquid on the floor and black spots danced in front of his eyes. 

Louis raised his hands in front of himself, trying to reach the sink while the bathroom spun around him but failing as his vision went fuzzy and dark around the edges. 

“Whoa!” said Harry, grabbing him right before Louis could collapse on the ground. “Easy, Lou... Just sit down, yeah?”

“Harry” Louis whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut and grasping Harry’s bicep in a desperate attempt to regain his balance. 

“Got you, babe, it’s alright...” Harry cooed, feeling his heart break a little as a few tears escaped Louis despite his efforts. “Oh, Lou”

Louis just whimpered again and pressed his wet face into Harry’s shoulder, exhaling shakily as the younger man cupped the back of his neck, slipping long fingers through his sweaty hair. 

“Wanna go to bed” he said, talking into Harry’s shirt, clinging to it and to him as he could while Harry rubbed wide, soothing circles into his back. 

“Okay” said Harry, sitting him back down on the closed toilet, “Let’s just get you out of these clothes first, hm? Raise your arms, I’ll help you”

Louis did just that, lifting his arms in the air as Harry pulled the sweat drenched jumper off of him and opening his eyes right on time to see his husband scrunching his nose up in disgust as he eyed the floor and then the sink.

“I’m sorry, H” he repeated shyly, gulping as he too looked around the bathroom and saw the mess he’d made, feeling just awful. More tears made their way down his face, and he couldn’t have stopped them even if he tried to. “I’m so s-sorry”

Harry gently caressed his cheek, smiling as Louis nuzzled into his touch almost out of instinct. 

“None of that, yeah? No need to cry” he said, crouching down in front of Louis and slipping a finger under the ankle of his socks to pull them off, only taking his eyes away from Louis' blotchy, tear-stained face when he saw the older man nod. “Up you go now, c’mon”

Louis squeezed his eyes shut and held on tightly to Harry’s shoulders to steady himself as he stood up and his husband crouched down to pull his pants off, leaving him in only a pair of quite loose boxers. He felt too warm and lightheaded, practically deafened by the blood thumping in his ears, stomach painfully empty and somehow still revolting inside of him, yet not like he was about to be sick - even if he was, though, there was nothing left inside to bring up anyway. 

“... You alright?” 

The man shook his head, groaning quietly as that made the dizziness worse. He felt like he was about to fall, but before anything else could happen, he was leaning on Harry’s chest again. “Don’t feel good”

“I know you don’t, love” Harry cooed, running his large hand down Louis' sweaty back and up again, “My poor Lou-Bear”

“Don’t call me that” Louis protested weakly, feeling the rumble of a chuckle on Harry’s chest before he closed his eyes. Next thing he knew, he was being lowered on the mattress and tucked in once more by a pair of strong arms and gentle hands that petted his hair and face until he was asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry groaned as he woke up in the next morning to Louis' obnoxious alarm blaring through the quiet room, reminding him of what they had planned for the day. 

Leaning over his husband’s thankfully still asleep form, the lad grabbed his phone to turn the alarm off and get back to the peace and quiet. It was already half nine, and Harry startled once the phone began to ring in his hand, almost dropping it in between the blankets. 

“There’s my lad! Happy birthday, Tommo, ya old man!” 

“Sorry Liam, s' not Tommo here” Harry answered with a little smile, shaking his head fondly, “Not the one you wanted anyway”

Liam chuckled on his side of the line. “Hey, Haz. Sorry, did I wake you up mate? Too much of a wild time celebrating the birthday boy last night?”

Sighing, Harry ran a hand through his hair and pulled the sheets back slightly with his free hand to see Louis' face. The man was sweating but shivering under the duvet, curled up into a little ball with a frown on his face, looking so unwell that it was hard to not just coo over him like one would do to a sick child. “I wish. Quite the opposite, actually. Lou seems to have caught an awful tummy bug, threw up his guts during the night, fever and all... Poor babe, he’s miserable” 

“Oh no, really?” said Liam, his voice immediately changing from cheery to sad, “That’s awful, and right on his birthday! Is he sleeping now?” 

“Yeah, yeah, he’s exhausted after all that, bless him. It came out of nowhere, he was just fine yesterday. I feel so bad for him, we were supposed to go to Donny today and stay over for the holidays with his family” 

“He’ll be bummed for sure, poor guy. I bet you’re tired too after the night you had, Haz. I’ll let you go back to sleep now, yeah? Tell Lou I hope he feels better soon so we can celebrate the right way. Oh, and gimme a ring or text if you need anything, at anytime mate”

“Thanks Li, I will. Take care yeah? Give little Bear a cuddle for me if you see him! I have his present here, yours too, pity they’ll have to wait now” Harry said, “And since we won’t be seeing each other, Merry Christmas!”

“You didn’t have to get us any presents, Haz, you know that” Liam answered with a sigh, already well aware that it was a lost cause, “And don’t worry about that. We’ll get the lads together and have a second Christmas once Lou gets better. Now go rest, we can talk later. Love you two, Merry Christmas”

“Love ya, Payno. See you soon!” 

Harry hung up with a smile and placed the phone on his nightstand, right as Louis started to wake up beside him. 

“Hey. How you feeling, love?” he asked, softly, pushing Louis' fringe back as it had fallen over his eyes while he slept. 

“Like shit” Louis answered, burying his face into his pillow, “Who were you talking to?” 

“Liam called to say happy birthday. And he said he wishes you feel better soon, too” said Harry, turning on his side to face Louis and shuffling until he was comfortable, a yawn escaping his lips, “Could use a little more sleep...” 

Louis nodded a bit dazedly and pulled the covers up to his nose with a sad little sniffle. 

“Cold?” Harry asked, “C’mere, let me hold you. You’re shaking” 

Without hesitation this time around, Louis flung himself into his husband’s arms, sighing as his freezing cold feet were finally in between the younger’s calves and his face was safely tucked into the solid, warm chest underneath him. “Mm, you’re like a heater... My very own personal heater...” 

Harry chuckled and kissed the top of his head. “Is that so?”

“Mmhm”

“Alright then. Go to sleep now, we both need it and it’s still early”

“We’re not going today, are we?” Louis asked, playing with the hem of Harry’s top, staring at his face while the man had his eyes closed. 

“Guess not, darling, I’m sorry” answered Harry, running his fingers through Louis' sweaty hair, “I know you wanted to see them, me too, but we can’t go with you like this” 

Louis sighed and nodded, biting his lower lip. “Yeah, I know. I just really wanted to see everyone today” 

“I’m sorry” Harry repeated in a whisper, heart clenching at how upset Louis sounded. 

“S’ not your fault” Louis shrugged it off, or rather tried to, “At least I didn’t get sick there. Hate being away from home when I’m sick”

Harry wasn’t fooled by his nonchalance but he was kind enough not to say anything about it, instead just holding Louis in his arms. That didn’t last long though. After a few more minutes of quiet cuddles, Louis began to move restlessly, only to suddenly jump out of the bed and rush to the bathroom. 

“Oh, Lou...” Harry said, having followed his husband there. Louis retched harshly and coughed, but clusters of saliva and bile were everything coming up as tears from the effort ran freely down his cheeks. 

“Call me sister” he managed to choke out, resting his heavy head on the toilet and closing his eyes, exhausted. 

Harry nodded and all but ran back to the bedroom to grab his phone, as he had forgotten that Lottie was supposed to come with them to Doncaster and if it weren’t for Louis, he probably would only have remembered that small detail when the girl knocked on their door. 

“... Yeah, I will. Call him later, he’ll be happy to see you all. Sorry about that, again. Yeah, I promise. Love you too, have fun” 

Louis had zoned out for a bit, but he did catch the end of the call and allowed himself to shed a tear or two that had nothing to do with the fact that he’d just thrown up again. He blamed the fever for that, he always tended to be quite emotional when sporting a temperature and of course this time would be no different. 

“Lou, babe?”

Harry’s warm hand on his back made him jump, as he hadn’t even noticed he wasn’t alone in the bathroom anymore. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you” Harry said, crouching down beside Louis to wipe his mouth and chin clean with some toilet paper, taking the chance to do so while the man tried to catch his breath, “There. How do you feel about a wash up now?”

Louis shrugged, keeping his head over the toilet as thick saliva pooled into his mouth and forced him to swallow repeatedly, his stomach clenching and rolling painfully as that just increased the nauseous feeling. 

Harry sighed and sat down behind him on the floor, with the same glass of water from the night before in his hand and his legs on each side of Louis' trembling form. 

Leaning back against him, Louis sniffled wetly and took a few shaky deep breaths in. His arms were wrapped protectively around his tummy and his pounding head was resting on Harry’s shoulder, since holding it up right then felt pretty much impossible. 

“Don’t think I can get up to shower now” he whispered, letting himself be soothed by Harry’s loving touches, curling up even further into him in an attempt to leech some of his warmth. Had their bathroom always been that cold?

“Who said anything about showers?” Harry retorted, squeezing him a little since he had of course noticed the way Louis was glued to his front, “I’m gonna give you a bath, yeah? It’ll do you some good, so just let me know when you’re ready” 

Louis closed his eyes and let out a tired sigh, turning his head away when he felt something cool and hard being pressed to his lips. “No...”

“Just a few sips” insisted Harry, rubbing Louis' back with his free hand and tilting the glass carefully as his stubborn husband parted his dry looking lips the slightest bit, “There, good boy. Can’t have you dehydrating, love”

“My head hurts” Louis said, shoving his face into the crook of Harry’s neck, breathing against his warm, soft skin. He smelled good - like their favourite body wash, those things he used religiously on his face and something else that Louis couldn’t really pinpoint, something sweet and familiar and just so Harry, so incredibly soothing. 

Harry gently pulled the smaller man away from himself enough to coax some more water into him. “Let’s wait a bit, see if you can keep the water down. I’ll give you meds then” 

Louis nodded and went limp against him, tired, feverish and clearly very uncomfortable, if his facial expressions and quiet sounds of protest every time Harry moved were to mean anything.

“I’m sorry, angel, but we have to get up okay? I’ll help you, you can just lean on me” Harry said after a few more minutes of sitting silently on the floor, holding his poorly husband and giving him little sips of water every now and then, when Louis actually allowed him to. 

“I think, I think I need to sit” Louis mumbled, holding his head in his hands as soon as Harry pulled him to his feet, swaying dangerously on the spot. 

“Whoa!” Harry’s eyes widened and he held Louis' arms to prevent him from falling. “Got you, easy now... Lou, hey, look at me”

Louis shook his head and slowly got to his knees, using the sink as support, “Just, just lemme lay down here for a bit, 'kay? I’ll just stay here...”

Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, his heart breaking a little more as he watched the semi naked Louis, who currently resembled a giant rag doll half laying against the bathtub, clutching his stomach. 

“Babe?” he tried again, once the bath was full of lukewarm water and his hands were already under Louis' arms, helping him stand up, “The bath's ready. Think you can get your boxers off for me?”

Feeling slightly better by then, Louis managed to push his boxers down enough that he could just stomp a few times and step out of them, another shiver racking through his body as he stood there. “G-Get in with me, H?”

“I’ll stay right here and wash you up, darling. In you get, c’mon” Harry answered, holding Louis' waist as he lowered himself down into the lukewarm water, head automatically lolling back in exhaustion, searching for a place to rest and hitting the wall hard enough to get a little cry of pain out of Louis' mouth. 

“Louis!”

The bathroom was spinning, Louis was so very sure of it. Goosebumps raised all over his skin, and he shivered, his teeth already chattering and head buzzing even more now. He felt weightless, a bit like floating and swaying in the sea, with waves rocking his body back and forth, making him more than a little woozy. And Harry, bless his heart, was there in an instant, kneeling by the bathtub and cradling his head with a hand so there was no risk of him hitting it again. 

He must’ve cried a little bit, because Harry was shushing him, and somewhere between that and the soft washcloth wiping away his tears and sweat, a towel was rolled up and placed behind his neck as a makeshift pillow so he could rest. 

“You’re so pale...” Harry said, rubbing shampoo in Louis' hair and covering his eyes as he proceeded to rinse it, “You were already feeling ill yesterday, weren’t you?”

“Before bed” Louis mumbled in answer, tongue still heavy in his mouth, “My tummy felt weird, but I didn’t think I’d be sick. Thought I had just drank too much” 

“I should’ve known” Harry was talking to himself now, frowning while squirting more body wash on the cloth, “You were too quiet, I figured you were just tired...”

“Haz” Louis shook his head, leaning forward. 

“Were you awake long before I woke up?” asked Harry, sounding concerned and worst of all, guilty.

Louis felt horrible. He wanted to tell him it was okay. He would’ve kissed him if he hadn’t just spent half of the night before being sick, if the warmth from the bath wasn’t seeping through his body and washing over him in suffocating waves, if it didn’t feel like whatever residual energy he had had suddenly been drained all the way from his head to his toes. And he did try to tough it out, but it was already too late for that. 

The lad hurriedly and clumsily tossed his upper body over the side of the tub, squeezing his eyes shut right as a small, pale stream of watery bile poured past his lips. He looked at Harry in surprise as it hit the bottom of a bin, the bathroom waste bin, and not the floor and thankfully, thankfully not Harry. 

Harry made a noise of sympathy and held his wet hair back when Louis heaved and nothing came up, flinching at the sounds of his dry, painful retching. “Shh... Breathe, Lou”

“Can I... Can I just go to bed now?” Louis asked breathlessly, covering his mouth with his hand. 

Harry nodded in answer, how could he not, and got up quickly to grab Louis' towel, failing to notice Louis' intentions until said man was standing up behind him, shivering and hugging himself. 

“I’d have helped you, you know?” he chuckled, turning around and shaking his head as Louis fully ignored him and leaned on his chest. 

“You can just carry me now, then” said Louis, yawning, looking ready to fall asleep right then and there. “Please”

Harry kissed the top of his head and wrapped a big fluffy towel around him before lifting him by the waist, Louis wrapping his legs around him and laying on his shoulder with a sniffle. “Sorry you’re so sick today, my sweet boy”

“S’ not your fault” Louis mumbled, “But thanks for taking care of me, baby”

Harry smiled at that. “Always will”

The walk from the bathroom back to their room took only a few seconds, but Louis was half asleep by the time that Harry laid him on the bed and finished drying him off, even rubbing some lotion on his body before helping him into another pair of pyjama bottoms and his old Stone Roses top. 

“You get some sleep now” Harry whispered, kissing Louis' ear gently and wrapping the duvet a little bit tighter around him, “I’m gonna check on the dogs and get something to eat. Do you want some tea or toast?”

Louis groaned at the thought of having to eat or drink anything, even his beloved tea, and muttered something that sounded a lot like “bloody fucking no” into his pillow, leaving Harry to just chuckle and go downstairs. 

Bruce and Clifford welcomed him happily, jumping, waggling their tails and licking his hands and face as Harry bent down to talk to and pet them a bit. The poor things had to be feeling quite lonely by then even though it was still early, after all they heard the ruckus going on upstairs but none of the men came down or even left the master bedroom for way longer than their usual routine. 

“Hello, pretty boys! I’m happy to see you too, good morning! Good morning!” Harry cooed, almost being tackled to the floor as the baby voice he used only made the dogs that much more excited to see him. “Oi, easy! Are you hungry? I bet you are! Let’s go get breakfast then, shall we?”   
\---  
Harry ended up in the living room with a cuppa and a bowl of cereal, eating quietly whilst watching a Christmas themed episode of a baking show that was currently on and half expecting Louis to call for him, the dogs at his feet and begging for his food even after having just eaten theirs - and that at an impressive speed. 

Everything was silent aside from the telly, and the lad all but jumped out of his own skin when the doorbell suddenly rang, making Clifford and Bruce run in a haste to the front door. Harry wasn’t as excited as them, considering how he hadn’t even had time to brush his teeth yet, but he got up and made his way to the door, leaving his dirty cup and bowl to be dealt with later. 

Upon unlocking the door, he just got a glimpse of platinum blond hair before a much smaller body was wrapped around him and a kiss was pressed on his cheek. Smiling in surprise, Harry hugged the girl back. 

“Merry Christmas!” Lottie said, pulling back from the hug just to crouch down and give the dogs some attention. 

“Thought you’d be on your way to Doncaster by now” Harry said, taking a few shopping bags from Lottie’s hands as she followed him inside, “And what are all these?”

“Well, your presents, of course. And I stopped to buy soup and juice for Louis, and your favourite croissants on my way here. Figured you could use a little treat. Rough morning?” Lottie said, and only then Harry noticed the two Costa cups on the carrying thing she had, “It’s hot chocolate. For you and me” 

“You’re an angel” Harry said, because even though he had just eaten and wasn’t exactly hungry after dealing with sick all morning, the smell of the buttered croissants was mouthwatering, “And yeah, I mean, Lou got it pretty bad. Haven’t seen him this ill in years”

“Poor thing” Lottie frowned, “Can I go see him?” 

“Yeah, course. He’s resting but I know he’ll be happy to see you” answered Harry, leaving everything on the worktop and leading the way upstairs to his and Louis' room, where the man was indeed cocooned in his duvet, with his face partially smushed into a pillow and mouth slightly open. 

Lottie smiled at the sight and took a seat beside her brother on the bed, gently running her fingers through his disheveled hair. 

“Lou, your sister’s here, love” Harry said, rubbing Louis' back to wake him up.

“Dot?” Louis asked confusedly, blinking a few times until his eyes focused on his younger sister’s face, “Hey. What are you doing here?”

“Came to wish you a happy birthday, baba” Lottie answered, leaning down to press a kiss to Louis' temple, the warm skin under her lips making her worried, “Sorry you’re sick. How are you feeling now?”

“Tired, but a little bit better. Not like I’m about to throw up my guts again, at least” said Louis, smiling as his answer made Lottie chuckle, “You’re using that same thing mum used for her lips, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, actually. How did you know?”

Louis took her hand and laced their fingers together, thumb running over her “J” tattoo. “The smell, when you kissed me. It’s still the same from when she did” 

Lottie beamed at that, pushing his slightly wet fringe back and laughing as Clifford jumped on the bed, having followed her and Harry there. The black, quite hyper dog made his way over and licked Louis' face, sniffing everywhere he could reach whilst Louis grumbled and tried to push him away. 

“Cliff! Get down. Leave your dad alone, he’s not feeling well” Harry chastised lightly, crossing his arms over his chest, lips pressed together as he tried not to laugh. 

Clifford ignored him and laid almost on top of Louis, rolling over to expose his belly in hopes of getting petted. 

“Honestly, boyo, you gotta be kidding me” Louis said, relenting with a roll of his eyes and rubbing the dog's belly halfheartedly. 

“Well, I just stopped by to see you two. Nan wants me there early so I better get going now. Get some rest, Lou, I’ll call you later with everyone” Lottie said, giving her brother one last cuddle and kiss before she got up, “Love you. Happy birthday again” 

“Thanks for stopping by, darling. Drive safely, yeah? And text when you get there” Harry said, getting up and wrapping Lottie in a tight hug, kissing the top of her head lovingly, “C’mon, I’ll show you out” 

They went back downstairs and Harry gave Lottie everyone’s presents so she could take them with her, hugging goodbye once again and making plans to meet at Doncaster for the second Christmas they always did for the youngest twins if Louis felt better by then before she was out the door. 

Harry drank his now almost cold hot chocolate and ate about half of a croissant before Louis yelled his name, making him drop it all to rush back upstairs. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?” 

Louis' lips stretched into a sleepy smile as he held his arms out for his husband. “Missed you. C’mere and cuddle me, I’m sick”

“Don’t scare me like that again” Harry said, laying down beside his husband now that the dog had finally left his side of the bed and spooning Louis, kissing his cheek. 

“Sorry about that” Louis said, taking Harry’s large hand and placing it over his aching tummy, “Thanks again for taking care of me, and sorry for ruining Christmas”

“You didn’t ruin anything, Lou” said Harry, getting the memo and gently rubbing Louis' tummy whilst holding him, “Now stop apologising and go to sleep, you need to rest. When you wake up, we can try some soup and crackers”

Louis visibly relaxed under his touch, sighing and closing his eyes, snuggling as close to him as humanly possible. “Okay. Love you, baby cakes”

“I love you too, sweet cheeks. Happy birthday” Harry whispered, closing his eyes for some much needed extra hours of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m finally back with the second part! Happy new year everyone, thank you so much for the support on this, it’s been lovely xx

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! This is my very first attempt on posting something here. I love writing and have the biggest soft spot for sickfics (and for Larry), but I usually keep them for myself lol. Anyways, hope you like it and merry christmas you filthy animals, all the love :) oh and i’m currently working on a second part for this, should be posting in the next few days


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